On-site treatment and landfilling of MSWI air pollution control residues

Air pollution control (APC) residues from municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) are difficult to landfill due to substantial leaching of trace metals. An on-site pretreatment prior to landfilling of APC-residues was investigated in terms of bench-scale experiments with a semidry APC-residue and a fly ash. The treatment involved mixing of the residues with a ferrous sulphate solution and subsequent oxidation of the suspension. Afterwards, the suspension was spread on a dedicated landfill section and allowed to drain by gravity through the drainage system of the landfill. The wastewater from the process, collected through the drainage system, contained large concentrations of salts (Cl: 14–30 g/l, Na: 4–9 g/l, K: 5–11 g/l, Ca: 2–12 g/l) but low concentrations of trace metals (e.g. Pb: 14–100 μg/l, Cd: <2–7 μg/l). The treated residues left in the landfills were later subject to leaching by simulated rainfall. The leachate contained low concentrations of trace metals (Pb: <120 μg/l, Cd: <2 μg/l, Cr: <485 μg/l). The leachate concentrations from the treated APC-residues were substantially reduced compared to concentrations in leachate from untreated APC-residues. Particularly in the early stages of the leaching, concentrations of trace metals were reduced by up to four orders of magnitude.